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Hooded Hydra

Creature — Snake Hydra

This creature enters with X +1/+1 counters on it.
When this creature dies, create a 1/1 green Snake creature token for each +1/+1 counter on it.
Morph {3}{G}{G}
As this creature is turned face up, put five +1/+1 counters on it.

CMC
2
Mana cost
{X}{G}{G}
Color identity
G
Rarity
mythic
Set
Murders at Karlov Manor Commander
Price
$0.51
EDHREC rank
#3220
Buy on TCGplayer
Hooded Hydra card art
Hooded Hydra enters as a scalable threat and leaves as an army — the combination of modular entry size and death-trigger token flood is the whole appeal. The cost is double-green in the casting cost, which taxes off-color shells, but Disturbed Burial and similar recursion make the death trigger repeatable enough that Polukranos Reborn runs it at a 75% inclusion rate.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01

Polukranos Reborn

75.5% of decks · synergy 0.74

Polukranos Reborn is a Hydra commander that cares about other Hydras, so Hooded Hydra pulls double duty as a synergy piece and a token generator that survives board wipes by replacing itself with a swarm of 1/1 Snakes.

02
Yarus, Roar of the Old Gods

Yarus, Roar of the Old Gods

71.7% of decks · synergy 0.70

Yarus, Roar of the Old Gods cares about attacking with creatures that have no keyword abilities, and Hooded Hydra fits that clean bill while also providing a token flood that fuels follow-up attacks after a wrath.

03
Kaust, Eyes of the Glade

Kaust, Eyes of the Glade

67.1% of decks · synergy 0.66

Kaust, Eyes of the Glade rewards running Snake creatures and payoffs that generate multiple bodies, making Hooded Hydra an efficient source of both a single large attacker and a wave of Snake tokens on death.

04
Aphelia, Viper Whisperer

Aphelia, Viper Whisperer

54.8% of decks · synergy 0.54

Aphelia, Viper Whisperer is a Snake tribal commander, and Hooded Hydra delivers a Snake body on entry plus a burst of Snake tokens whenever it dies — exactly the density Aphelia wants.

05
Gargos, Vicious Watcher

Gargos, Vicious Watcher

55.9% of decks · synergy 0.53

Gargos, Vicious Watcher reduces the cost of Hydra spells, making Hooded Hydra cheaper to cast at any X value and freeing up mana to go larger than a fair game would otherwise allow.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Hooded Hydra does its best work — the format's slower clock means you can actually cast it for a meaningful X, and the token-on-death clause scales into the kind of board-wide removal that Commander tables throw around constantly. In Modern and Pioneer it's too slow and too easily answered for competitive play, landing in casual brews at best. Legacy and Vintage have no use for it given the density of faster threats. Hooded Hydra is a Commander card through and through, and that's not a knock — it's genuinely good at the one thing it was built for.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.51 bulk tier

At $0.51, Hooded Hydra is bulk — easy to acquire and easy to cut without regret if your build evolves. That price is unlikely to move much given its narrow competitive relevance, so pick it up whenever you need it without urgency.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.